Radiator shutter units



1932' E. ca. PETERSEN 1,871,914

RADIATOR SHUTTER UNITS Filed March 19, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 didyar 5 1622266 W 34% Wiggi- Aug. 16, 1932. E. G. PETERSEN RADIATOR SHUTTER UNITSFiled March 19, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 m N w km E:::: m.w m, 2

1932- E. G. PETERSEN RADIATOR SHUTTER UNITS Filed March 19, 1930 5Sheets-Sheet 5 dra 671, 756 WM Aug. 16, 1932. E. G. PETERSEN RADIATORSHUTTER UNITS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 19, 1950 EIiGAR JG.PETER-SEN, or

Patented Aug. 16, 1932 run, or}, carcass rumors, A .qoarona rlonjorpELAwana aamaroa SHUTTER Bums f ""Application filed' March 19,late-Benn release.

The. present invention relates to radiator shutter units, and is,particularly concerned with radiator shutter units for controlling theflow of cooling air through the radiators of internal combustionengines,

Another object of the invention is the prolhe radiator shutter unitsofthe prior art have been provided with a plurality of radi ator shutterspivotally mounted in a substan= tially rectangular frame, andconsequently all of the shutters wereof the same length, and unless theradiator to which the shutter was applied, was also of rectangularshape, it was impossibleto utilize the full radiating area of theradiator core. That is the rectangular shutter unit was made as large asthe front area of the radiator core wouldpermit,

but the balanceof the radiator core was covered by a plate or shieldcovering that por-' tion of the core betweenthe edge of theshut- T terunit and the radiator shell.

full area of the radiator core whenever the front surface oft-he corehad any form other than the simple rectangular form, and one of theobjects of the present invention'isthe 'pro-- vision of an improvedshutter unit which is capable of utilizing allot the radiating area of acore of irregularshape;

vision'o'f a radiator shutter unit' which is adapted to be used uponthetype of radiators which have arounded top or a. top portion whichtapersi n width, andwhlch 18 adapted to utilize a greater portlon ofthe;

cooling area ofradiators ofthistyper Another object isthe provision ofan improved shut'ter unit which is provided with; a plurality ofshutters :o'fdifl erent length, I all of which are adaptedtobesimultaneously actuated by an improved form of actuating mechanism.

Another object is the provision of an improved radiator shutter of thebuilt-in type which is more sturdy than the'devic'es of the prior art,capable of longer service without possibility of rattling, and capableof being economically manufactured and assembled.

Another object of the invention-is the pro- "vision of an improvedradiator shutter as shutter unit.

semblyin which'the radiator shell is provided witha false shutter apronfor closing-the lower part-of the radiator core to prevent freezing ofthe water at this point, and the description and from the accompanyingThe shutter units ofthe prior art were not adapted therefore to theutilizationof the Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken ontheplane of the line-22 of Fig. 1 looking in the'direction of thearrows." Fig.3'is a horizontal sectional view taken onf'the plane ofline 3- 3 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows. "3 P Fig. 4is a rear'elevati'on'al' view of the 'Fig. 5 is a side elevationalshutter unit. V v

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the shutter unit taken on theplane of the'line 66 of looking in the direction of the arrows. v Fig.is a rear elevational view of part of a modified form of shutter unithaving view of the j a larger number .of shutters of different withshutters offdiiferent lengths for the' purpose of utilizingthe full areaofthe opening in the front of the shell 10. o

The radiator shell is preferably sup-' ported directly upon the chassisof the vehicle and the front wall 14 of the shell 10 is preferablyprovided withan inwardly pro-- jecting flange 15 and a contacting flange16, which extends substantially parallelto the face of the shutter unit11. The contacting flange" 16 of the shell 10 may be made of resilientmaterial-to produce acloser fit between the shutter unit and thecontacting edge 16 of'shell 10, and the edge or flange ,16 forms. theborder of the fenestration 13 which may take any desired ornamentalshape. The design illustrated in the present embodiment is to beregarded as. merelyexemplary of one of the many forms which thefenestration;

in the radiator shell 10 may take, The lower portion of thefenestrationi13 in the shell 10 may be closed by a false shutter apron17 consisting of a stamped sheet of metal which is formed with a flatborder 18 for engaging the rear side of the flange 16,' and with aplurality ofseparate shutter formations 19 of the same width and shapeas the shutters 20 which are carried by the shutter unit 11.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. l,=the false shutter plate 17 1comprises a separate sheet or plate of metal which may be secured to theinside of the radiator-shelllO by a plurality of right angle brackets 21and screw bolts 22 or otherconvenient fastening means. In someembodiments of the, invention, the

false shutter plate 17 mayconsist of an integrally stamped formation onthe shell v 10, The false'shutter plate 17may be-provided at a centralpoint with a cap plate 23 andriveted or spot welded to the shutter plate17, and forming an opening 24 for access to the crank shaft of theengine, and the opening 24 may be .closed by any conventional type ofcap 25. it The radiator core 12 comprises one of the conventional formsof honey-combstructnres for permitting the. circulation of water througha multiplicityof conduits having fins exposed to the air, and thehoney-comb part of the core 12 is supported by a, sheet metal core band26 forming the outer wallof At the rear side of the the radiator'core12. core 12 the core band 26is providedwitha laterally projectingextension 27 which may be secured to the radiator shell 10 brackets andbolts 28 or other convenient fastening means. The core band 26 is alsopreferably provided with a pair of forwardly projecting extensions 29 ateach side to provlde a support for the shutter unit 11. It will thus beobserved that the radiator shutter unit 11 may bedirectly supported bythe extensions onthe core band 26 which in turn are fixed to the shell10 carried by the chassis in such manner that there is no possibilitythat the honey-comb portion of the core 12" may be damaged The forwardextensions 29 on the core band 26 also form a casing for enclosing thespace between the shutter unit 11 and the radiator core 12in such manneras to provide a substantially continuous conduit through the shell 10.The. radiator shutter unit 11 preferably comprises asupporting frameconsisting of two end frame members 30, 31 and a pair of side framemembers 32, 33. The lower endframe member 31 may consist of an elongatedsheet metal member which is preferably provided with a pair of upwardlyprojecting attaching flanges 34, 35. The lower frame member 31preferably has a'flat bodyportion 36 with a downwardly projectingflange37 at the rear edge for increasing the strength and rigidity of theframe, and a forwardly projecting rib or housing 38 for enclosing andprotecting the bearing strip 39. The housing 38 comprises a downwardlyextending flange 40, and a backwardly extending flange 41, and theflange 41 also supports a downwardly extending flange 42.

When the shutter unit is assembled with the core and shell as shown inFig. 1, the flange 41 rests upon the upper edge of the false' shutterplate 17, and the flange 42 is engaged behind the false shutter plate17. The side frame members 32 and 33 of shutter unit 11 preferablyconsist of elongated sheet metal members which are likewise formed withattaching flanges 43, 44 at each end, and with laterally projectingreinforcing flanges 45 at the rear edge. At the front edge of each; ofthe lateral frame members 32, 33 these members are preferably providedwith an inwardly projecting flange 46 which is bent outward and backwardupon itself as at 47, forming a curved surface 48 of substantially thesame shape as one of the curled portions 49 of a shutter 20. Theoutwardly extending portion 50 of each of the side frame members 32, 33constitutes a resilient shell engagingflfiange which may be made ofsufficient width to fill the space between the shutter'unit 11 and thecontacting edge 16 of the shell 10. Where the shape of the fenestration13 is such that it tapers in width toward the top, the resilient flange50 should also taper in width. By virtue of the width of the flange 46,the fold 47 and the width of the flange. 50, the latter flange ismaintained in re ilient engagement with the inwardly projectingcontacting edge 16 of shell 10. thereby providing a substantiallyair-tight and rattle-proof connection between the shutter unit 11 andfront part of shell 10. The laterally projecting extension 27 on thecore band 26 provides the principle supportfor the radiator core 12andshutter unit 11 upon the shell 10, and also encloses the rear side ofthe space 51 in the shell 10, forming a dead air space about theradiatorcore 12, which tends to prevent the radiation of the heat fromthe water in the core during cold weather.

In order to secure the shutter unit 11 to the forward extensions 29 onthe core band 26, the extensions 29 are provided with apertures 52 forreceiving the screw bolts 53 and the side frame members 32, 33 areprovided with apertures 54 within which are riveted the threaded members55. for receiving screw bolts 53. The threaded members 55 are eachprovided with a reduced portion 56 adapted to be received in theaperture 54, and theside frame member 33 is confined, between theshoulder 57 and the end of the reduced portion 56 which is riveted over.The size of the frame for the shutter unit 11 is preferably such thatthe shutter unit 11 may be slidably received between flanges 29.

The upper attaching flanges 44 on side frame members 32, 33 preferablyextend obliquely with respect to the .sideframe members 32, 33 to cutoff the upper corners of the frame and provide a frame which tapers inwidth toward the top to conform to the shape of the radiator shells ofthis'type. In the embodiment of Fig. 4, the amount of taper at the topof the frame is small, because only:

one shutter of lesser length is provided at each side of the shutterunit, but in the embodiment of Fig. 7, a plurality of shutters 20 ofdifierent lengths have been provided and the oblique flanges 44 on-theside frame members have been made correspondingly longer. The upperframe member 30 is also provided with oblique attaching flanges 58, ofsuch angularity that they fit against the flanges 44 on the side framemembers, and .theseflanges may be secured together by a plurality ofbolts 59 or other fastening means.

The attaching flanges 43 and. 35 at the bottom of the shutter may besecured to the adjacent parts of the frame members by spot welding orother fastening means of a more permanent nature, but bolts arepreferably employed at one end of the frame so as to facilitate theassembly of, the shutters with the frame with the use of ordinary tools.The upper frame member 30 is also preferably provided with a downwardlyextending rein-V forcing flange 60 at its rear edge, and with adownwardly extending facing flange 61 at its forward edge. The facingflange 61 is preferably made of suflicient width to cover the ends andboth upper corners of each of the shutters 20,.and to overlap theresilient flange 50 carried by side frame members 32, 33. The

facing flange 61 is preferably secured to the laterally projectingflange 50 on the side frame membersby screw bolts 62 or other fasteningmeans, thereby greatly increasing the rigidity of the frame work bysecuring these frame members together'in two different planes. Theshutters 20 preferably consist of sheet metal members, each of which isformed with a curled portion 49 for receiving as a thrust bearin for ena ement with a resilient. bearing strip. The rib 64 also definitelylimits the length of the trunnions 63 which may be driven in until therib engages the end of the shutter.

The respective shutters 20 are also laterall curved as at 65 to increasetheir lon itudinal rigidity and their lateral resiliency, and

the other edge of the shutters is preferably formed with a curvedportion 66 which is complementary to the tubular portion 49. It will beobserved that the curved portion 66 of the left-hand shutter in Fig. 3is adapt-edto engage the curved part .48 of flange 46 in the same manneras the engagement between the respective shutters.v

The crack between the right hand shutter and the shutter frame member 32is preferably closed by the resilient flange 67 of a sheet metal memberwhich is secured to the frame member 32 by means of another flange 68 atright angles, to the first mentioned flange. The flange 67 preferablyhas sufficient clearance with respect to the curved portion 49 of theright hand shutter to permit the shutter to rotate freely. The upperframe member 30 is preferably formed with a plurality of stampeddepressions 69 for receiving rivets 70 which secure a resilient bearingstrip 71 to the upper frame member. The bearing strip 71 consists of anelongated strip of bearing metal such as brass, bronze, or other alloyswhich is drilled with a plurality of holes 72 forming bearings for thetrunnions 63. The trunnions 63 are preferably formed of'steel, so as toproduce a minimum amount of wear from the engagement with the bearingstrips 71. The bearing strips 71 being resilient, they may be fixedlysecured to the upper frame member 30 by the rivets 70, and the bear ngstrip 71 is spaced from the upper frame member 30 by the stampedprotuberances '69 and the spacing members 73. v The bearingstrip 71 -isthus adapted to flex along its length, and to resiliently engage thethrust bearings 64 of the respective shutters. Since the present shutterunit is provided with a plurality of and the central shutters-20. In theem-- bodiment of Fig. 4, where only one short shutter. is employed oneach side, the end bearing 77 is sufficiently supported by the rivetswhich secure the body 74 to frame member 30, but in the embodimentillustrated in Fig. 7, the bearing strip 71 is provided with a pluralityof the bent portions 75, 76 forming a plurality of offset bearingportions 77, each adapted to receive a trunnion of a shutter of lesserlength, and the lower end of the last bearing portion 77 1s preferablyextended and provided with an attaching flange 78, which may be securedto the side frame members 32 and 33 by a screw bolt 79.

It will be observed that the first short shutter at the right in Figs. 4and 7 has an elongated trunnion 63 which is pivotally mounted in themain body of the bearing strip 71. Each of the bearing portions 77resiliently engages the thrust bearing 6% of its respective shutter,thereby tending to prevent rat-. tling of the shutters in theirbearings, and the resilience of the bearing strip is increased by theprovision of the offset portions 80 of the strlp. Referring to Fig. 5,the housing 38 in the lower frame member 31 is adapted to receive abearing strip 39 of metal similar to the bearing strip 71, and thebearing strip 39 may be secured in place on the lower side i of framemember 39 by a plurality of rivets 81. It should also be understood thatthe body 36 of the lower frame member and the body of the upper framemember 30 are provided with apertures registering with the apertures inthe bearing strips 39 and 71.

Each of the shutters 20 is preferably provided at one end with abackwardly extending shutter arm 82, and the shutter arms 82 compriseintegral extensions or flanges bent over at the top from the curved body65 of the shutters. The shuttersmay be adapted for simultaneous or groupactuation the only difference in structure between such arrangementsbeing the provision of a plurality of actuating bars 83 or the divisionof the present bar into two or more parts.

The shutter actuating bar 83 comprises an elongated strip of sheet metalsuch as steel which is formed-with a plurality of spaced apertures 84which are aligned with the apertures 85 in shutter arms 82 when theshutters are closed.- Each of the shutter arms82 is provided with-arivet having a reduced end of sufiicient size to be received in theaperture 85,50 that the rivet may be fixedly mounted on arm 82 byriveting over the end and confining the arm 82between a shoulder on therivet and the end of .the rivet as shown in Fig. 6. The shutter bar 83is then rotatably confined between the head 86 of the rivet and the bodyof the'shutter arm 82, and when a plurality of shutters have beensecuredto the shutter actuating bar 83 in the same manner,

they may all be actuated from a common controlling device.

Since the shutters 20'are not all of the same length, the shutteractuating bar 83 comprises a central body portion 87 which is pivotallyconnected to the longest shutters, and which extends'sufliciently beyondthe long shutters so as to prevent any interference between the shuttersof the bar. At each end the body portion 87 is bent downward at 88,forming an offset portion 89 of su'flicient length to span thedifference in length between the longest shutters and the next adjacentshorter shutter. At the point 90 the shutter bar is again benthorizontally so that thehorizontal portion 91 may be pivotally connectedto the ends of the next shorter shutters, and so on.

V Inthe device shown in Fig. 4, only one short shutter is used at eachside, but in the modification shown in Fig. 7 the shutters 20 aresuccessively shorter at each side, and consequently there'are aplurality of offset portions. 89 and horizontal portions 91 on theshutter actuating bar 83. Referring toFigs.

2 and 6, the shutters 20 may all be moved to open position by moving theshutter actuating. bar 83 to the left in Fig. 4, or to the right andupward in Fig. 2. The actuating mechanism for the shutter bar 87preferably includes a fixed stud 92 which may be riveted to the shutteractuating b'ar83 in a manner similar to the way in which rivets 86 aresecured to shutter arms 82. The stud 92 projects upward through anarcuate slot 93 in the upper frame member '30, and is pivotally securedto. a link 94 which has its opposite end pivotally mounted to a bellcrank 95.. The bell-crank 95 is itself pivotally secured upon'a fixedstud 96 carried by upper it should .be noted that the present shutterunit is not confined to the use of the unit with the stepped shutterslocated only at the top of the unit, but in appropriate cases theshutter unit may be provided with shutters gradually decreasing inlength at the bottom of the unit, or at both ends of the shutter unit.The structure described in Fig. 7 with respect to one end of the unitmay thus be utilized at either end or both ends, and in otherappropriate cases the shutters may extend horizontally instead ofvertically, so that the present shutter unit is capable of use withpractically any shape of radiator shell to utilize the maximum amount ofair circulating surface of the radiator core. It will thus be ob servedthat I have invented an improved radiator shutter assembly and radiatorshutter unit in which the shutters may be made of various differentlengths, and the shutter frame of shapes other than the usualrectangular shape, in order to utilize the maximum air circulation areain the radiator cores of automobile radiators of various differentshapes.

While I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, manymodifications may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise details ofconstruction set forth, but desire to avail myself of all changes withinthe scope of the appended claims. I

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. A radiator shutter unit comprising a frame, said frame comprising apair of side frame members and a pair of end frame members, obliqueextensions carried by the ends of one of said frame members, obliqueextensions carried by the adjacent ends of said side frame members,means for securing the extensions together forming a fenestration, aplurality of shutters of different lengths pivotally mounted in saidframe to utilize the maximum amount of opening in said fenestration, anda common bearing strip for pivotally supporting the ends of saidshutters of different lengths, said bearing strip having offset portionsto bring its hearings into juxtaposition with the ends of shortershutters.

2. A radiator shutter unit comprising a frame, said frame comprising apair of side frame members and a pair of end frame members, obliqueextensions carried by the ends of one of said frame members, obliqueextensions carried by the adjacent ends of said side frame members,means for securing the extensions together forming a fenestration, aplurality of shutters of different lengths pivotally mounted in saidframe to utilize the maximum amount of opening in said fenes-' tration,a common bearing strip for pivotally supporting the ends of saidshutters of different lengths, said bearing strip having offset portionsto bring its bearings into juxtaposition with the ends of shortershutters, and a shutter actuating bar having a plurality of ofisetportions, said bar being pivotally mounted on a plurality of shutters ofdifferent lengths. I I

3. A radiator shutter unit comprising a frame, said frame comprising apair of side frame members and a pair of end frame members, obliqueextensions carried by the ends of one of said frame members, obliqueextensions carried by the adjacent ends of saidisid-e frame members,means for securing the extensions together forming a fenestration, aplurality of shutters of different lengths pivotally mountedinsaid frameto utilize the maximum amount of opening in said fenestration, a commonbearing strip for pivotally supporting the ends of said shutters ofdifferent lengths, said bearing strip having offset por-V tions to bringits bearings into juxtaposition with the ends of shorter shutters, ashutter actuating bar having a plurality of offset portions, said barbeing pivotally mounted on a plurality of shutters of difl'erentlengths,and a spring for urging said shutters to closed positio I 4. A radiatorshutter assembly compris ing a radiator shell, a radiator core having acore band with forwardly'and rearwardly projecting extensions, one ofsaid extensions being fixedly mounted on said 1 radiator shell, and theother of said extensions being adapted to receive and support the frame.

of a radiator shutter unit, and a radiator shutter unit for controllingthe flow of air through said shell and radiator core.

5. A radiator shutter assembly comprising a radiator shell, a radiatorcore having a core band with forwardly and rearwardly projectingextensions, one of said extensions being fixedly mounted on saidradiator shell, and the other of said extensions being adapted toreceive and support the frame of a radiator shutter unit, and a radiatorshutter unit for controlling the fiow of air through said shell andradiator core, said radiator shutter unit having a plurality of radiatorshutters of difierent lengths, and

said shell being adapted to coverthe ends of said shutters of differentlengths. 7

6. A radiator shutter assembly comprising a radiator shell, a radiatorcore having a core band with forwardly and rearwardly projectingextensions, one of said extensions being fixedly mounted on saidradiator shell, and the other of said extensions being adapted toreceive and support the frame of a radiator shutter unit, a radiatorshutter unit for controlling the flow of air through said shell andradiator core, said radiator shutter unit having a plurality of radiatorshutters of different lengths, and said shell being adapted to cover theends of said shutters of different lengths, said shutters having a plu-'ality of shutter actuating arms locatedin different planes, and ashutter actuat-ingbar pivotally inounted upon said shutter actuatingarms. I v

7 A radiator shutter assembly comprising aradiator shell, a radiatorcore having a core band with forwardly and rearwardly projectingextensions, one of said extensions being fixedly mounted on saidradiator shell, and the other of said extensions being adapted toreceive and support the frame of a radiator shutter unit, a radiatorshutter unit for controlling the flow of air through said shell andradiator core, said radiator shutter unit having a plurality of radiatorshutters of different lengths, and: said shell being I adapted to coverthe ends of said shutters of different lengths, said shutters having aphi-f ralityof shutter actuating arms located in difierent planes, ashutter actuating bar piv-- otally mounted upon said shutter actuatingarms, a bell crank carried by said shutter unit, a link'pivotallyconnecting said bell crank and said shutter actuating bar, and a springtension ed between said link and said shutter unit to urge said shuttersto closed positionl In Witness whereof, hereunto subscribe my namethisditlr day of March, A. D.

. EDGARG. PETERSEN.

